what’s really sweet is she shielded them from a knife pointed at them once and now they’re doing the same for her. THEMATIC ARCS WITH COMIC RELIEF CHARACTERS.

I know a lot of people would question why Erin stuck around with Lilan for this whole thing when leaving means there was no way she could be used as a tool of war so…just leave…but it’s not in Erin’s nature to abandon people and Seimiyah asked her to stay (and as we find out later in this episode, even without Erin, the bad guy had a method to kill everyone, so her leaving was not going to be a solution to the “people might die” problem. She also made it clear she didn’t want her and Lilan to have to abandon the world and live in hiding.

But most importantly? It’s been clear these past few episodes that Erin is suicidal and she’s pretty much looking for an excuse to end her life. She’s so guilt-ridden over the deaths she’s seen and believes she’s caused, so she believes she deserves to die. She WANTS to die. She’s seen horrible things and feels responsible for them. Her relationship with the animal she raised like a child is broken right now and she used a method to control said animal that she does not morally condone, so she feels she compromised her principals and is now using a being she loves as a tool. She’s full of guilt and self-hated. And maybe a part of her has always wanted to die since her mother’s death, and now that part can’t be ignored. I really think the biggest reason Erin stayed is that she wants to die and she is waiting for an excuse.